Chief Osamuyi in an exclusive interview with Innocent Ezeike of the Graudix International

Chief Osamuyi Igbinidu is a man from Benin in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. I am the Managing Director/CEO, Barrigiggs Nig. Ltd.

Well, I was born and bred in Edo state. I had my education from primary to university level in Edo State. I’m happy to say that Edo has always been my home because that was where I lived for more than 35 years with my parents and siblings including other family members. I am married to a pretty wife with four lovely children; three sons and a daughter.

Well I was the first child of my parents. I was only three months old when my father and mother separated. My mom was the first and only wife then and I was the only child rom that with my mother through the years. My father later got married to about six wives thereafter before he died in 2005. My mother was a teacher and I lived with her as I was growing Just the both of us, She gave me the best education in life and I will always remain grateful to her. I must say that she actually gave me a good upbringing any responsible mother can yive to a child. I remain grateful to God almighty and my mother because now that I am a parent, I know what it means to train up children. To make them useful in life is another thing entirely. My mother made a lot of sacrifices just to make me a better person in life, I never lacked anything as a child when I was growing, She gave me the comfort and all I wanted, My mother is my bedrock and the best gift I have in this world are my kids, The best decision I have ever made in life was getting married to my lovely, pretty wile “OFURE”, who has been my greatest cheerleader, confidant and supporter-in- chief. She means the world to me and she is my gossip partner, my soulmate, my better half and my prayer warrior. I am so blessed to have her. My mother was a teacher in her days. All the schools she worked were big and expensive schools of children of the elites as their fees were very expensive. Those were the kind of schools I was privileged to attend.

I started business at the young age of 15. I started my carrier in the sawmill business. I had a friend whose father owns a sawmill factory and my friend encouraged me to learn the business. I usually accompany him to the factory after school hours and that was how I learnt the trade under the tutelage of his father. I later saved money to invest in the business and that was how my carrier in business started even in the university where I made giant strides in business. After my higher institution, I met a man by name Peter Dumia from Edo North Local Government Area. His nickname was Peter Black. He was a very nice man who was into the Oil and Gas business. He was a guru in the business and when he saw my passion for business, he encouraged me to come into the oil and gas sector and that was how I learnt the oil and gas business through him as a mentor. After some few years in the oil and gas sector. I eventually diversify into the present business which I am today.

Every business has its own challenges whether small or big. I am a graduate of chemical engineering and I did my masters in psychology but as you can see, I eventually found myself in business. This is the kind of scenario we have with so many graduate in recent times. One major challenge in every business is finance. To start your business, you need money, to expand your business you need money and also need money to sustain your business. And besides, it is very difficult to be in business in this part of the world like Nigeria because the business environment is very unfriendly due to government policies and other bottleneck which you encounter in the cause of your business. So many youths have beautiful business ideas but the finance to execute it is a big problem. You can see how government come and go but they have not been able to help the youths who are in dare need to set up a business. They have failed to invest in the informal sector which own a very large percent of work-force in the country. For you to access a loan in the bank is a big problem. When I was a teenager, my mother with my step-daddy relocated from Nigeria to Europe. Before she travelled, she wrote and signed 12 post- dated cheques of 5,000 naira’s each. The naira had a big value then. She instructed me to cash a cheque for feeding and upkeep every month. The cheque is to last for a period of one year (12) months precisely. When she finally travelled out of the country, I didn’t go to the bank for 5 months to cash the cheques on monthly basis as instructed by my mother. I waited for the sixth month to cash the 6 cheques together. When I eventually cashed the cheques, I had a reasonable amount of 30,000.00 naira with me. That was the money I used to put into the sawmill business and I started fully. So I can tell you that the first seed of life COVER STORY Chief Osamuyi Graham Igbinidu is the M.D/CEO of Barrigiggs Nig. Ltd, a professional infrastructure service firm with proven track record in structural, civil and environmental engineering. Chief Osamuyi, a native of the Benin kingdom hails from Oredo local Government Area of Edo State. He started his carrier in the sawmill business as a teenager before gaining admission to the University of Benin where he studied Chemical Engineering. With hardwork, resilience and divine providence, Chief Osamuyi has risen to become a businessman par excellence whose determination and prowess for business flows ceaselessly. Chief Osamuyi is a passionate, kind-hearted, humane and generous person. Having discovered his call for service to humanity, Chief Osamuyi Igbinidu and his lovely wife ‘Ofure’ are in the process of setting up a foundation to give a new lease of life to a number less-privileged children. Chief Osamuyi in an exclusive interview with Innocent Ezeike of the Graudix International, share his thoughts on topical national issues as well as his personal life experiences. Excerpts: from my mother. I want to use this medium to encourage the youths to start any business with little they can afford. Just start with what you have and with hard work, the business will grow. That is why my motto in business is; JUST START. I want to tell you that there were numerous challenges when I started my business but with hardwork, resilience and God’s blessings, I thank God for bringing me to where I am today.

While in school just as I said earlier, I did the sawmill business for some years. I went into the GSM (communications) business at the carly stage in Benin. We were into fixing of phones and that gave us good profit. I later went into transportation business, I started with a golf car at first. At night I and my friends will go to night club with the car and when we return in the morning, the driver will go to work with it. Within a short time, I had acquire about 8 buses which I employed drivers and they were making returns for me on daily basis. I later bought a motorcycle for same transport business and within a short period of time, I had about 38 motorcycle popularly referred to as ‘Okada’, I employed people who were working with these motorcycles and they were bringing returns on daily basis and I was smiling to the bank everyday as well. I was in my 300 levels in school when I built a two-bedroom flat in Benin City, where I lived. I also built an hostel close to my school which I rented out to students for a reasonable amount. I later decided to venture into real estate fully. I targeted distress buildings with the help of scouters. All I did was to approached the owners and gave them a good offer if they are willing to sell. When they agree to my terms, I buy their houses, renovate or complete the buildings and sell them making good profit. The business kept on moving to an enviable heights until I graduated from school and went into the oil and gas business with my friend and mentor Peter Black and after some few years, here I am today in my present business as a contractor. That has been the journey so far. If you don’t have the zeal and determination to succeed in business, you cannot advance far at all. Butl must tell you that you really need God in your business for you to succeed in life. You need to have the fear of God and keep your hands clean in whatever you do and you will see God’s intervention in your life. It is very stressful and difficult for you to make success in this part of the world like our country Nigeria. You really need God to succeed in all you do.

For some years, I was into the oil and gas business which has been my major, but presently for about two years now, I have been into contracts, that is getting contracts from the government. I believe that in this part of the world such as Nigeria, the fastest way to make money is being a government contractor. For you to even get the job is a different ball game entirely. It is quite regorious and crazy. There are so many intricacies surrounding it. You execute the job but getting your money paid to you is another problem of its own. I just pray that things will get better very soon. There are so much bureaucracy in the process.

Well, let me give you an example, There is a particular area in Lagos that Alhaji Aliko Dangote constructed a road for the government as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It took him few months to complete that road. But if the federal or state government should handle that particular road, it can take them 5 or 10 years to complete it. And that is the problem we have in this country. When you go round the country, you will see several abandoned projects by the government whether state or federal. All these are the corruption in the system. I recall when I travelled to South Africa and to my surprise, I didn’t see any uncompleted building anywhere. When I asked a friend the reason, he told me that when you want to build a house, you approach a bank and discuss with them. The bank will put all machinery for you to build and complete knowing your financial capability and how to assist you with the necessary finance. The banks know your financial strength and how to partner with you whether as a contractor or as an indívidual. In Nigeria, a government comes into power and starts a project and when they leave office and unable to complete that project, the next government that comes into power abandons that project instead of continuity. This is why we are lagging behind in terms of growth and development.

They know those problems but they are just pretending they don’t. They have totally refused to do the right thing that will move our country forward because they don’t have love for the country. For instance, any government that comes into power will always come with an agenda, such as 7 point agenda or 10 point agenda as the case may be. You will be surprise that at the end of their tenure, they will not be able to achieve anything. It is like throwing 5 oranges up and you try to catch the whole 5 oranges. You will definitely fail to catch any of the oranges. That is what is happening to subsequent government that comes to power. For instance, Former President Obasanjo came to power and tried to achieve on the communications sector by giving us GSM phones which we are all enjoying today. Things will get better when any government that comes to power decides to concentrate mostly on one or two particular sector such as Power, Education. Health and other vital sectors of the economy. We will be out of the problems we’ve found ourselves and the citizens will be happy and the country will be great once again. That does not mean that other areas of the economy will be abandoned. Just for the ruling government to deliver one or two particular sector before bowing out of office.

What advice do you have for the youths of this country? Well, my advice is for you as a youth to go to school and acquire the much needed education which is the first step. When you have knowledge, no one can take it away from you. The youths should abstain from drugs, kidnapping, fraudulent act and the yahoo business as they call it which is very common presently. Any youth who wants to go into any business should start from the scratch. He or she should look for a mentor and learn everything concerning that business because there are always success and failure in any venture. We have youths that are very intelligent but government at all levels have failed them but that is not enough reason for most of them to go into all forms of social vices to make ends meet. I strongly advise them to look inwards to the talent they have and put it into use for the good of themselves, their family and the society in general. Any youth who wants Any youth who wants to succeed should not wait for white-collar job that is not available. Even if you are a graduate or school certificate holder, just embark on learning a skill or trade that you can fall back on if the job is not available. Skill empowerment is very important these days. I can tell you that most graduates have dumped their certificate and go to learn one skill such as welding, motor mechanic, tailoring etc. and they have made it successful in life today. They even became employer of labour at last. What advice do you have for the government on providing job opportunities for the youths? The government should provide jobs for the youths and that is the responsibility of any responsible government who wants its youth to succeed. Graduates are roaming about the streets looking for jobs and they can’t find none. It’s very unfortunate that both federal and state governments lack the capacity to create jobs for its teeming youths. Government at all levels should budget money on annually basis for youths who aspire for business and other empowerment and skill acquisition programmes. The government should grant soft loans and grants to youths by investing in them to help them actualize their dreams and God-giving